Monday, February 23, 2015

Several people completed opiate detoxes last week, and we
even bumped some along more quickly so they could get back to their home states
before the “Blizzard of 2015” kept them trapped in Richmond.

All my patients move me in some way, but I was particularly
touched by a young man this week from the New England coast. He is a commercial
fisher; young, strong, already his body bears the marks of a man who has one of
the hardest physical jobs there is. He will probably always have some degree of
physical pain because a regular part of his day job is pushing his physical
body to extremes.

He told me that he’s never run his boat without being high.
I was kind of stunned-even though I thought I stopped being surprised by drug
stories a long time ago.

“Never?” I asked incredulously.

He dropped his head for a moment, then looking me in the
eyes. “Never.”

Wow!

He has pretty much convinced himself that without being on
opiates, he can’t do this job. I understand from a physiologic perspective what
he’s saying. When a person has been using opiates for as long as he has, his
brain no longer manufactures dopamine. It’s kind of like, why bother? The brain
can’t manufacture enough dopamine to compete with the overload of dopamine that
comes from using opiates. When a person who has regularly been using opiates
stops, his energy is going to plummet until the brain restores itself.

And that can take a long time.

But, the truth is, this guy—battered as he is—is young and
strong and has an incredibly specialized skill. He’ll be able to pull off
anything he needs to do, physically. His muscle mass isn’t going to deteriorate
just because his dopamine is low, as long as keeps exercising those muscles.

It’s the self-defeating thoughts that are going to be his
big problem.

I suggested he get a tattoo across his left forearm so
whenever he’s about to do anything at all on that boat (or anywhere else for
that matter) and his crazy thoughts start harassing him, he can read on his arm
the same simple question Zen Master Rinzai asked to a room full of monks long
ago:

What at this moment
is lacking?

If our fisherman can be in the precious present moment, not
dwelling on choices made in the past, or anticipating future suffering, he can
bear anything. It’s a matter of putting one moment after the next, then the
next, and the next. And being there for each one.

About Me

The Coleman Institute, the Advanced Center for Addiction Treatment, is recognized as one of the most successful and innovative outpatient accelerated detox centers for addiction treatment in the country with 10 offices in the U.S.
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